Visions of War PrologueChapter 4
by Choi
Summary: The start of the anime doesn't start at the beginning that you all know and love...


Visions of War - A Ranma 1/2 Alteverse Fanfiction  
  
Prologue  
  
A man walked. Normally this would be nothing to be concerned about.  
  
However, this man was walking through an apocalyptic ruin of what once   
was a city.  
  
There were broken alabaster pillars lying on the ground in a state of   
ruin. Skeletons littered the ground in an eerie sort of way. Arrows,   
swords, shields, and many other equipments of war were almost casually   
strewn about. Death was upon this city.  
  
None of this had an effect on him. What did effect him was the sight of   
a child-sized skeleton gripping a small teddy bear in its skeletal  
hands. Tears came to his eyes at the sight before him.  
  
So engrossed was he by this horrific sight, that he did not notice that   
his body was shrouded by a chaotic and sickly green aura. He looked   
like a demon from the deepest depth of Hell.  
  
He moved his hand slightly to the side pointing to the ground.  
  
A beam of green light burst from the aforementioned hand to create a   
crater. He picked up the small skeleton and the little teddy and   
tenderly placed them in the newly created grave. He carefully covered   
the grave with dirt and knelt.  
  
Ranma wept.  
  
He cried out his sorrow to the heavens, yet they would not answer.  
  
For hours his heart and soul poured out for the child that perished in   
the slaughter.  
  
At the end of his private mourning, he stood up and stood still.  
  
He vowed that he would never let what happened to Ranko happen to any   
other.He vowed to avenge his sister. No one kills Ranma Saotome's   
sister and lives.  
  
End Prologue  
  
Visions of War  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Lightning and thunder erupted across the landscape. The winds were   
howling and the clouds hung low and ominous. The rain came down in   
torrents.  
  
In the distance, one could see the focus of the storm in a clearing in   
the middle of a forest.  
  
Two men stood in the clearing locked in combat.  
  
One man wore a light red vest, loose black kung-fu pants, wrist   
bracers, and black lithe slippers. He sported a pig-tail that reached   
just under his shoulders. His name, Ranma Saotome. The other man wore   
the uniform black ninja garb. His name, Ken Inuyisha.  
  
The one known as Ken lunged and in mid-air, flipped so that his feet   
would strike his oppenent on his chest.  
  
Ranma sidestepped and delivered a vicious roundhouse in the ninja's   
stomach making him double over in pain. However, he did not stop there.   
He continued sending ferocious attacks at his downed oppenent until the   
man collapsed unconscious.  
  
Stepping away from his enemy, Ranma speculated this situation. After a   
moments thought, he picked up the fallen man by the throat and slapped   
him. This had the effect of waking him.  
  
"Who are you and why have you attacked me?" Ranma shook Ken.  
  
"I don't have to answer to scum like you!" shouted Ken in defiance.  
  
This angered Ranma. He started to tighten his grip. His opponent yelped   
like the dog he was.  
  
"If you don't answer me, I'll have to rip your head off." Ranma said in   
a cold, clear voice.  
  
It seemed like the point got through to Ken that he would die if he did   
not do something quick. His supply of air was running out quickly.  
  
"Alright!...I'll...tell you," Ken quickly said in desperation.   
"Just...let me...down."  
  
Ranma was suspicious, but he couldn't see any other way to make the man   
talk. He let go the ninja's throat.  
  
The person in question rubbed his sore throat in a vain attempt at   
trying to sooth the pain.  
  
"My name is Ken Inuyisha. My boss, Hiroshi, told me to get rid of all   
the evidence of the massacre back in Kyoto. I thought that it would be   
an easy job seeing as how there was reported no survivors." He looked   
at Ranma. "Heh. I guess the spies were wrong."  
  
"I traveled to Kyoto, and looked for any piece of evidence that would   
indicate that our organization was the cause of the destruction when I   
saw footprints leading in and out of town. The footprints stopped at a   
little grave and I immediately thought that there must've been some   
person that escaped the battle and returned to mourn the passing of   
their loved one. One thing led to another to lead to you." He said   
looking up at Ranma.  
  
Ranma just looked back at him and asked, "Did you do anything to the   
grave?"  
  
"I dug it out and ripped the toy out look...AGGH!" Ken was cut off due   
to a hole where his heart used to be.  
  
Ranma lowered his hand. " I don't really care for those who desecrate   
burial grounds for the deceased. Especially my own flesh and blood."  
  
He stooped over the body and searched for any signs of where to go   
about finding out something about the killers of his sister. He came up   
with nothing.  
  
"Damn!" seethed Ranma, "This piece of trash is clean!"  
  
He was about to walk away when he saw a brand on the body's foot. It   
was a upside-down crescent moon that strangely looked as if it was   
meant to be black.  
  
"I wonder what that means..."  
  
  
A figure looked into the a cauldron that viewed the recent events.  
  
"Hm... Interesting," said the figure speculatively rubbing its chin.   
"It seems we have a new player in this game. And from the looks of it,   
he will be quite a nuisance to my design!"  
  
The figure gave off a hideous laugh and threw its cloak to the ground   
revealing the figure to be female.  
  
"And so it begins..."  
  
End Chapter 1  
  
Visions of War  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Ranma was travelling on the road to Tokyo when all of a sudden he was  
ambushed by a group of ninjas dressed similarly to Ken (1).  
  
The first to attack did so in a flying kick but was interrupted by  
Ranma's spinning kick to his midsection. He was sent flying.  
  
Ranma then had to duck to avoid a thrust to the head by a sword-weilding  
foe, then swept his feet from under him, sending him to the ground. The  
masked man quickly got up to his feet ready to swing his massive katana  
but was sent back down to the ground by a fast punch to the nose.  
  
Seeing two of their friends quickly defeated, the others decided to  
attack simultaneously. Together, they got into a stance that promised  
a dificult manuever to dodge.  
  
Ranma smirked.  
  
The ninjas rushed him in an intricate pattern, not allowing any escape.  
They never took Ranma's skills into account.  
  
Through years of training and experience, Ranma dodged, sidestepped, and  
basically avoiding the enemies' lethal attacks and returned in earnest,  
an attack of his own.  
  
He lunged towards his enemies and every time he attacked, a body would  
drop to the ground.  
  
It was over in 7 seconds flat (2).  
  
-------  
  
Ranma walked on the road to Tokyo.  
  
On his back was a huge pack designed to hold many things. Indeed it  
carried many things. Such things were a sleeping bag, sets of clothing,  
some provisions, and 400kg (3) of weights.  
  
One would think he was travelling light and they would be right. Ranma  
was not one to travel with lots of stuff making him rely on his pack.  
He would instead like to travel and not have to worry if his pack was  
stolen or left behind because it did not carry anything valuable.  
  
However, one thing that was important to him was his memories. Memories  
of his mother, father, and sister. Memories of his friends. Memories  
that would not, could not afford to lose.  
  
At this moment he was thinking of the time that he first learned he  
would have a sister...  
  
-------flashback  
  
"Mommy, why is your belly so big?" Asked a 7 year old boy. "Are you   
getting fat?"  
  
Nodoka suppressed the urge to smack her insolent son on the head for  
that remark.  
  
"No son," replied Nodoka in a gentle voice. "You are going to have a  
little baby sister soon."  
  
Little Ranma just looked confused and after a little bit of thinking,  
frowned.  
  
"I thought babies came from storks?" Nodoka stiffled a laugh but smiled  
all the same.  
  
"Whoever told you that Ranma?"  
  
"Father did." Nodoka sighed at the news.  
  
"Yes he did Ranma."  
  
-------end flashback  
  
An older Ranma sighed and was depressed, knowing that he would never be  
able beat up his father like he used to.  
  
Then his thoughts turned to the matter of finding out who killed his  
little sister, Ranko (4). Then he remembered the strange symbol he found  
on Ken's foot.  
  
'I wonder what that upside-down crescent moon stood for?'  
  
He had enough of this thinking business and set his sights on the  
yellow brick road to the wonderful city of Tokyo (5).  
  
-------  
(1) Refer to Chapter 1 for information regarding Ken.  
  
(2) I'm assuming Japan had a way to tell time.  
  
(3) How else is he supposed to get stronger? Genma had lots of strange  
ideas for training and its only fitting that Ranma learned this from  
his father.  
  
(4) Your probably thinking 'How obvious can David get?'. Too bad. I like  
the name so I stuck with it. Got any problems with that?  
  
(5) I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I just had to put in a reference to  
The Wizard of Oz. ;)  
  
End Chapter 2  
  
Visions of War  
  
Chapter 3  
  
If a word could describe the sights before Ranma, it would have been  
prosperous.  
  
Ranma had just entered the outskirts of the city of Tokyo and already,  
even in the suburbs of the city, there were numerous people milling  
around doing whatever busy people do.  
  
There were vendors with their own yakatoris (1), women walking around  
buying groceries, men working on construction, and others were just  
standing and talking with each other.  
  
He had heard stories of city life when he was still living in his, now  
destroyed, village, but nothing could have prepared him for the scene  
before him.  
  
As he walked through the streets, he noticed that the houses were built  
out of stone, plaster, and wood and even had shillings for the roofs.  
He was used to living in sods (2).  
  
However, for all of Tokyo's splendors, he noticed that the people seemed  
pre-occupied with something. It seemed that they were always in a state  
of tension. Analyzing the situation even further, he could even  
sense the greed from the crowds in front, behind, and on the sides of  
him. The golden city of Tokyo didn't look so bright anymore.  
  
He was about to speculate even further when he caught the sound of  
people screaming in the distance. The sound was coming closer and  
closer.  
  
The people around him stopped what they were doing and heard the screams  
themselves. Looking toward the distance, they saw a wave of people  
rushing towards them. Somehow, they saw through the cluster of people  
and saw a beast unfit for human eyes. Then they screamed and ran as  
well.  
  
All of them except for Ranma.  
  
Even though he did not care for the behaviour and attitude of the  
citizens of Tokyo, he did not wish them harm. And so, he rushed towards  
to the monster with the intent of destroying it.  
  
The monster itself was a bulging mass of muscles easily soaring to a  
height of 8 feet. It had scale-like skin and had horns protruding from  
his elbows, knees, shoulders, and head. It was red in color. It also had  
a face not even a mother would love. If one was to look at it in person,  
they would say it was a demon that was wrecking structures causing  
massive property damage.  
  
While the monster was creating havoc, it noticed a little girl assuming  
a fetal position and crying her eyes out. Being the evil thing that it  
was, the beast rushed towards the girl ready to pounce and enjoy hearing  
and feeling the brutal slaughter of the innocent little child.  
  
Ranma saw all this and his already hurried sprinting turned into a mad  
dash to save the girl. To any that happened to glance, they would only  
see a red and white blur.  
  
The demon closed in for the kill and was ready to savor the flavors (3)  
the little girl's blood would have to offer. It reached in with it's  
bulky arm and felt a satisfying impact. However, when it looked at its  
result, it noticed that its intended victim was not on the receiving  
end. A young man had his hand over its fist. Ranma smirked.  
  
Snarling, the demon launched into an array of moves designed to take out  
the strongest of opponents. This same combo was able to take out an  
entire army of samurai. Fire had a better chance against water than this  
little boy had. In some cases however, fire would prevail.  
  
Ranma just went inside the demon's guard and struck out, then struck   
again and again. He followed with a crescent kick to the head  
breaking one of its horns. The demon roared in pain.  
  
However, Ranma did not let up. He continued to strike the demon over and  
over again until the demon seemed to grow desperate and start trying to  
scramble away. The demon would have a field day trying to explain the  
event to its superiors. Ranma let it go.  
  
Seeing the demon fleeing from the scene, the people in hiding started to  
come out of their hiding places. They stared at Ranma in disbelief. Then  
they cheered.  
  
Some men had the courage to go to Ranma and lift him onto their  
shoulders. The crowd paraded around celebrating.  
  
Ranma was annoyed. Using one of his carrier's head as a springboard, he  
launched himself out of their way and made his way towards the little  
girl he saved earlier. The people did not notice this seeing as how they  
were too busy celebrating.  
  
However, Ranma couldn't find the little girl. At least until she came up  
behind him and tugged on his red shirt.  
  
"T-Thank you m-mister."  
  
Turning around, Ranma could see clearly for the first time the appareance  
of the red-haired little girl.  
  
She seemed to be 6 years of age. She was wearing a plain cloth dress with  
patches which indicated that she was not wealthy. In fact, it seemed she  
was poor. However, all this did not matter to Ranma. To Ranma, he was  
looking at a ghost. A ghost of his little sister. A little sister that  
got in the way of the battle in his village. A little sister that was  
run through by a sword. A little sister that was carelessly murdered. He  
fell to his knees.  
  
"R-Ranko...?" He grabbed the girl by her arms and looked straight into  
her eyes. He was trying very hard to come with an explanation for this.  
  
The girl in question had wide frightened eyes. A shimmer of tears was  
just starting to appear in the corners of her eyes.  
  
Seeing that the little girl was about to cry, Ranma quickly let go and  
started to apologize for his mistake when he was interrupted by a fierce  
hug.  
  
"Thank you for giving me a name mister." At this, Ranma was crestfallen.  
It seemed his sister did not come back from the dead.  
  
"You mean you didn't have a name before?" Ranko shook her head.  
  
Ranma was about to speculate further when he was cut off by a  
loud-mouthed fellow.  
  
"You! One who claims to have defeated a demon!" Ranma looked around him  
searching for anyone who fit that description. He found none.  
  
"You mean me?" He pointed to himself.  
  
At this question, Kuno turned toward the crowd of people gathered in a  
ring around the two. He addressed them.  
  
"It seemeth our saviour does not have the wit to comprehend such a  
simple call!" The people laughed and jeered at Ranma already having  
forgotten the incident with the demon.  
  
Ranma simply glared at them sending the crowd a reminder of the battle  
which quickly quelled the noise emitted from all of them. All of them  
except for a certain samurai armor wearing loud-mouthed idiot.  
  
"I will not accept the fact that a vagabond such as yourself, would  
actually have the skill to defeat a demon! Only samurai have the skill  
necessary to quell such beasts!" With that he unsheathed his katana  
pointing it at Ranma.  
  
"Wilt thou fight to prove thy worth, ronin (4)?"  
  
Ranma just glared at him.  
  
Crying out a battle cry, Kuno charged Ranma intending to cut him in half.  
  
Ranma got into a battle stance then leaped at his opponent.  
  
The two crossed paths (5) and landed on either side of each other. The  
two did not not more for a while. Ranma turned back to Kuno and gave a  
digusted look at him.  
  
People were wondering why Kuno was just standing around. One man was  
brave enough to walk up to him and waved his hand in front of Kuno's  
face. Kuno did not react.  
  
"Hey everyone! He's in shock!" He took out an ink set and brush and  
started doodling on Kuno's face.  
  
Everyone else scrambled for their own set, eager to doodle on the local  
samurai.  
  
Ranma bigsweated.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"  
  
A scream rendered through the air and the people tensed thinking that  
the demon had come back with reinforcements.  
  
They shuddered when signs of love declarations to Kuno (6) were thrusted  
into the air.  
  
"Kuno's been defeated!"  
  
The crowd parted to allow a group of women to go toward Ranma. They  
looked furious.  
  
The females stopped and glared at Ranma. Then one of the women spoke up.  
  
"Kill him!"  
  
Kuno's fan club rushed Ranma.  
  
Meanwhile, the rest of the people continued doodling on Kuno.  
  
----Erehwon (Nowhere)  
  
A woman stands, gazing at the visions put forth by the liquid in the  
cauldron in front of her. It was currently confusing her.  
  
It was not a vision of the past. It was not a vision of the present. No,  
it was not any of the above. It was not even a vision of the future. It  
was a premonotion.  
  
However, this particular one was very obscure.  
  
Looking into the viewing water, the woman could see only darkness. But  
the strange thing was that the darkness continued becoming darker. If  
that was possible. A luminous dot of light appeared.  
  
No matter how dark the vision became, the ray of light continued to  
shine bright, pushing against the darkness.  
  
Then an image of man appeared, shimmering. The image was continualy  
wavering around but it was gradually becoming still. When it stopped  
flickering, the identity of the man became clear.  
  
It was Ranma.  
  
"Hm... Who is he? What does the future hold for him? Why him?" These  
questions and more were coursing through the lady's mind.  
  
At the height of her speculation, the vision inside of the cauldron  
suddenly wavered and dissapeared leaving behind a moving image of a  
scene.  
  
The image was cloudy and when the sound kicked in, she could hear sounds  
of a people screaming, yelling, and generally causing a ruckus.  
  
When the smoke cleared, the group of women were leaving a tangled mess  
of a human being called Ranma.  
  
The woman sweatdropped.  
  
"What was that?" Before she could say anything further, a tall muscular  
armored figure walked in. He had a white streak in his long hair which  
was tied back into a simple pony-tail. He had cat-like eyes.  
  
"Lady Tendo, we have located the vagabond. It appears he goes by the  
name as Ranma Saotome," The man sneered. "Shall I send troops to destroy  
him for you?"  
  
The woman paused in thought for a moment resting her chin on an upraised  
hand.  
  
"No, I want him alive. Bring him to me, Herb."  
  
Herb, narrowed his eyes and without a word, was about to step out when  
Nabiki called him back.  
  
"Herb. Do not damage the boy. Do I make myself clear?" She looked  
straight in his eyes as if she was challenging him.  
  
"I understand fully milady." Herb said this through clenched teeth.  
  
Nabiki just turned back to her cauldron, pondering.  
  
----Tokyo, Japan  
  
It took Ranma a little while but he got back up, brushed his clothes off  
and look none the worse for wear and tear.  
  
In the background, the people were still fascinated with the concept of  
doodling on Kuno with ink sets that they did not notice that Ranma was  
leaving the scene.  
  
He was walking away when he was stopped by a tug on his pants. Wondering  
who or what the hindrance was, he turned around. It was the little girl  
he named Ranko.  
  
She was looking up at him with wide-eyes and with adoration.  
  
"Mister, are you leaving?" She barely whispered.  
  
"Yes I am." He replied.  
  
"C-Can you take me with you?" Ranma looked like he was a deer caught in  
the headlights of an on-coming truck.  
  
"Uh.. Um.. That is.." He used his hand to start scratching the back of  
his head.  
  
Before Ranma could answer any further, he and the little girl were  
attacked.  
  
A group of ninjas like before on his way to Tokyo, suddenly sprouted of  
the darkness.  
  
They rushed the unprepared Ranma.  
  
Suddenly fearful for her benefactor's health, Ranko jumped in front of  
him and closed her eyes ready for anything.  
  
The ninjas too far into their trajectory, grabbed the little girl by  
accident and jumped away into the shadows. Their element of surprised  
was ruined. They did not want to end like the Alpha team (7).  
  
Shocked out of his stupor, Ranma leaped for the ninjas but it was too  
late.  
  
"Rankoooooooo!!!" He leaped into the alleyways and onto the rooftop but  
there was not sign of the ninjas anywhere.  
  
"No.." Ranma fell onto his hands and knees. "I failed. I failed again.."  
  
Deep in his sorrow, Ranma did not notice a figure that appeared behind  
him.  
  
The figure turned out to be a male who appeared not to have had any  
sleep for the last year.  
  
"Ahem! I think I know who took that little girl.."  
  
Gosuskugi was lifted by the collar of his robes by Ranma.  
  
"You'd better tell me everything you know or else."  
  
Gosunkugi started sweating like mad.  
  
"Ano... I don't know anything..."  
  
Enraged, Ranma was about to punt Gosunkugi into LEO when he felt the  
tremors.  
  
"Um... Could you let me down?"  
  
Ranma put a finger against his lips.  
  
"Shhh"  
  
Thinking the demon would be back, Gosunkugi started trembling. He then   
started wriggling in Ranma's grip trying to get himself free when felt  
the tremors of the earth shaking.  
  
"Please let me down!" He started crying.  
  
Without giving him any attention Ranma let him down. With that,  
Gosunkugi just ran away screaming at the top of his lungs.  
  
Ranma's attention was on the tremors that seemed to be coming from down  
the street where the people already fled in panic. Only Kuno was left  
behind. But Ranma didn't care for him.  
  
A cloud of dust formed in the distance not unlike the one created before  
when Kuno's fanclub beat him within an inch of his life.  
  
A shine of light flash in Ranma's eyes and he had to shield his eyes  
from it. Then it hit him.  
  
"Ow!" A stinging slapping feeling hit him in the face. When he opened  
his eyes, he could only see dark. Pulling the offending object off his  
face he saw an alien object.  
  
"What is this..?" He was interrupted by the yells of the women that were  
creating the dust in the distance, and who were bearing down on him with  
cries of "Pervert!" "Thief!"  
  
In a panic, Ranma started shaking but his legs wouldn't move.  
  
The women took advantage of this and pounced on him.  
  
For the second time today, Ranma felt pain like he never felt before.  
  
"Ow!" "Ite!" "Not There...!" "AHHHHHHHH!"  
  
Happosai just stood by swinging a panty around his finger, smirking.  
  
"Looks like I found a new toy."  
  
----  
  
(1) A portable restaurant.  
  
(2) A house made of the mud, wheat, or any other stuff handy that was on  
the ground.  
  
(3) It rhymes!  
  
(4) Japanese for vagabond  
  
(5) Sorry about the pun. I couldn't resist.  
  
(6) Bet you didn't see that coming!  
  
(7) Refer to Chapter 2  
  
End of chapter 3  
  
Visions of War  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Gosunkugi took a slighty warm damp cloth off Ranma's forehead and   
replaced it with a cooler damp cloth.  
  
Ranma stirred awake.  
  
Ranma sat up, blinked away the rest of his sleep, and took stock of the   
environment around him. He was in a bright room with white plaster   
walls and a rice paper door. He noticed the various dressers and the   
table that sufficed as an eating plane. It was not an opulent room, but   
it wasn't a shack either.  
  
"I see that you have decided to return to the land of the living."  
  
Ranma quickly got up and backflipped into a fighting stance.  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
Gosunkugi put up his hands in a warding gesture.  
  
"Don't hurt me! I'm the one that you almost attacked before when those   
ninjas took that little girl."   
  
"Not you. You."  
  
Ranma overlooked past Gosunkugi. His gaze was towards the shadow behind   
Gosunkugi.  
  
The shape moved from out of the shadow to reveal himself as...   
Happosai.  
  
"Hello Ranma. I see that you have recovered from your ordeal with those   
women." Ranma narrowed his eyes.  
  
"You were the one who just had to use me as a scapegoat didn't ya?   
Well, no one uses me like that without a beating!"  
  
Ranma leaped towards Happosai with the intent of kicking ass.  
  
"I don't think so Ranma." With that Happosai took out a flask of liquid   
from the fold his clothing, uncorked it, and splashed Ranma with it.  
  
When he was hit with the water, Ranma felt very disoriented. His center   
of balance was off. His chest felt very heavy and very constricted. His   
head felt lighter.  
  
So it was no wonder that he lost his balance in mid-leap and fell down   
on his face.   
  
Still unknowing of the full horror of the liquid that he was splashed   
with, Ranma exclaimed, "What did you do to me?" For some reason his   
voice sounded very high-pitched.  
  
Openly leering, Happosai replied, "Why, I only made you a better sight   
to behold!" He leaped for Ranma. Or more accurately, his chest.  
  
When Happosai landed, Ranma felt a strange feeling on his chest. He   
shivered at a the touch and almost afraid of looking, he reluctantly   
glanced down. He had breasts.  
  
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!"  
  
Ranma grabbed the old freak and proceeded to beat the shit out him.  
  
Happosai, didn't like the feeling of being beat up. He took out his   
pipe and tapped Ranma on the forehead and infused a bit of ki into it,   
resulting in throwing Ranma off of him and into the wall.  
  
Miraculously not showing any signs of damage, Happosai sat down on the   
floor.  
  
"Maybe now you'll listen to me."  
  
Ranma couldn't move a muscle.  
  
'Happosai must've hit one of my paralysing pressure points.'  
  
"..."  
  
Seeing that he would not receive any banter from Ranma, Happosai   
continued.  
  
"I have the power to see the future." Happosai paused.  
  
"In it I see that you are engaged in some sort of war and in it I   
foresaw that you would need the curse of Jusenkyo. As to what Jusenkyo   
is, it is a valley located in the Qinghai Province in China. In the   
valley, there is a clearing spotted with small springs. However, they   
are no ordinary springs. Each spring has the power to curse the person   
that falls in it. The curse is to turn into the body of the last thing   
to drown in it. Thing is, the curse is triggered by different   
temperatures of water. The water I splashed you with is from the spring   
of drowned girl."  
  
Happosai stood up and walked over to Ranma-chan.  
  
"In the future you had the body of a cat."  
  
Seeing Ranma tense Happosai knew that he was on the right track.  
  
"I know you received the cat-fist training. You have the markings of   
it. I decided to give you a human form instead of the animal that you   
fear most. So, in fact you should be thanking me!" Happosai pounced on   
Ranma's chest again.  
  
Feeling the strange, unwelcome sensation again, Ranma forced the   
paralyzation out and punted Happosai through the roof into LEO.  
  
"Oh god that felt wierd!"  
  
Shivering in revulsion, Ranma thought back on what the old man said.   
Looking around she spotted Gosukugi trembling at a corner of the room.  
  
"Can you get me some hot water?"  
  
Gosunkugi did as she asked.  
  
Ranma poured the hot water on herself. Immediately Ranma felt the   
change. His chest felt like it was being crushed, his head felt like it   
was swelling, his hips felt like it was being squeeze really hard, and   
finally the familiar sensation between his legs.  
  
Ranma patted himself down to make sure the old freak was not lying. He   
stopped at his manhood because he was sure by that point.  
  
He turned to Gosunkugi.  
  
"Thanks for your help, man."  
  
Ranma left for the door.  
  
"Wait!" Ranma stopped.  
  
"Let me go with you." Ranma turned towards Gosunkugi with a questioning   
glance.  
  
"Why?" Switching his eyes to the floor, Gosunkugi answered.  
  
"Ever since I was a little boy, I always wanted to experience magic. I   
always believed that magic always existed. And today, I saw it for the   
first time." Gosunkugi lifted his head and looked at Ranma fiercely.  
  
"For the first time today, I saw magic. Now that I know that magic does   
truly exist, I want to learn more about it." Ranma was puzzled.  
  
"So why do you wanna go with me then?"  
  
"I don't know but I have this feeling like we were destined to travel   
together. Will you take me?"  
  
Ranma considered it.  
  
"No." With that he walked out the door.  
  
  
"Well, if it isn't Ranma Saotome."  
  
Ranma had just exited the house when he was confronted by a male that   
seemed to be in his age group. He had a white streak in his hair and   
wore scaly armor. However, his most destinguishing feature was his   
eyes. The man had cat-like eyes.  
  
After a long pause, Ranma sighed.  
  
"Why am I so popular all of a sudden?" He muttered.  
  
Herb facefaulted.  
  
"I mean, did I piss off some Kami? Did I do something in my past-life?   
Did I..." Ranma was cut off by a blast in the face. He was blown back   
into the wall of the house and fell in a heap.  
  
Herb lowered his smoking hand.  
  
"I grow tired of your babbling. I was sent to kill you by Nabiki   
Tendo."  
  
"..."  
  
"Are you too afraid to say anything? Well, you should be. I am death   
incarnate."  
  
"..."  
  
Herb looked more carefully at the fallen man and noticed that Ranma was   
out cold. Herb facefaulted once again.  
  
"Kaiki kuso... (1)"  
  
Herb was about to speculate even further if it weren't for Happosai   
bursting into the scene by falling on his head. He lost consciousness   
almost immediately.  
  
"Thanks boy, for breaking my fall like that. Oh, I see that you fell   
asleep. Oh well, time to give you a gift." Happosai left a small ball   
wrapped with what looked like brown paper and with a small sparkling   
wick coming out of it.  
  
He took out a pail of water and splashed Ranma with the water.  
  
Ranma-chan stirred.  
  
"Oh man, did anyone catch the flag insignia of that ship?"  
  
Ranma-chan shook her head to clear it. She spread her senses out and   
felt a powerful yet familiar ki presence near her. She look up and   
bared her teeth.  
  
"You again! I'm gonna kill you for cursing me like that! Die!" Ranma   
lunged.  
  
Happosai simply jumped up, took out his pipe and casually flicked Ranma   
into the air.  
  
"I'll get you old mannnnnnnnn...."  
  
"Hmph! Do someone a favor and what do you get? Insolence..."  
  
It was at this time that the bomb exploded. What was left after the   
explosion was an impact area with black sooty marks spiking out on the   
ground.  
  
  
Gosunkugi saw all of this from the safety of his windows. He was   
staring at the little shrunken old man.  
  
'Wow! It's him! That's the old man who changed that rude guy into a   
girl. He must a black magic user! Now if only I can persuade him to   
teach me some magic...'  
  
Under Gosunkugi's eyes, Happosai dissapeared in a blur.  
  
"Wha...?" someone tapped on his shoulder. Gosunkugi stiffened.  
  
"*Gulp* W-Who is t-that that?" Gosunkugi quickly looked over his   
shoulder. He saw nothing. He then turned back towards the window and   
was looking at the most wrinkly face he ever saw.  
  
"AAAHHHH!! It's a troll!" Gosunkugi received a rap on the head by   
Happosai's pipe.  
  
"Who's a troll! And here I was, about to offer you an apprenticeship in   
magic too..." Gosunkugi eyes lit up.  
  
"Really!? Will you?" he grabbed Happosai into a hug with tears   
streaming down the sides of his face.  
  
"Ack! Can't...Breathe..." Happosai was turning an interesting shade of   
blue.  
  
Noticing the lack of comfort in his benefactor, Gosunkugi let go of   
Happosai. He got down to his knees and bowed to Happosai.  
  
"I await you're command, Master."  
  
  
On the other side of the city of Tokyo, Kuno was strolling down the   
street, his all-female-plus-one-male fan club following him waving   
banners of his greatness around. People quickly swerved to the side   
afraid to cross paths with the undefeatable (except for one time)   
samurai and his equally terrifying fan club.  
  
The lone male fan ran to catch up with Kuno while the women were giving   
him the evil eye.  
  
"Master Kuno! I love you!" he glomped Kuno. However, he was smacked   
across the head before he could.  
  
"Begone demon! No man would proclaim his love for another without the   
stain of the devil upon him! I shall smite thee!" Kuno proceeded to   
beat Sasuke up and punted him out of stratosphere.  
  
"I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."  
  
Sasuke continued his trajectory until he crashed into a red-headed girl   
with a pig-tail. He was knocked unconscious immediately.  
  
They fell to the ground. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how   
you look at it), Kuno caught Ranma before she hit the ground. Sasuke   
wasn't as lucky.  
  
"Who is this goddess that doth fall into my arms?"  
  
The Kuno fan club got to their knees and started crying.  
  
Kuno looks up with tears streaming down his face.  
  
"The heavens hath doth graciously granted me love! I must hurry to my   
state to prepare the ceremony!"  
  
With Ranma still in his arms, Kuno trooped off home.  
  
The fan club wiped their tears and got up. They had angry looks in   
their face.  
  
"I never like that @$$hole anyways!" they said in unison. However, they   
took their banners and rushed to the Kuno manor proclaiming Kuno's   
greatness.  
  
Sasuke was left inside his self-made crater.  
  
  
Ranma woke up with a splitting headache. She sat up and the first thing   
she noticed was that she wasn't in her own clothes. She was wearing a   
silk purple nightgown (2). You could see through the material very   
easily. Whats more was that she was wearing bras and panties.  
  
"What the hell!?" she proceeded to rip them off. She was left naked and   
when she looked down at herself she developed a nosebleed.  
  
A servent chose that moment to enter the room. Thankfully, the servant   
was female. She looked to be 19 years of age. She had long brown hair   
tied back by a white ribbon in her hair.  
  
"Oh my!" exclaimed Kasumi. She hurriedly dressed Ranma into clothes   
again much to Ranma annoyance.  
  
"Hey!" Ranma now wore a red kimono. She ripped this attire as well.  
  
"I ain't wearing no girly clothes!" Kasumi didn't let the comment faze   
her and got out another kimono.  
  
Ranma had a plan, a plan that did not include wearing women's clothing.   
She was planning on trying to become a man again.  
  
"Wait!" Kasumi stopped, perlexed, "Why?"  
  
"I'm a guy! I ain't no girl!" Kasumi was confused.  
  
Usually when she becomes confused, her mind shuts down and her body   
reacts.  
  
"Oh my!" With that she exited the room.  
  
"Hey, where're ya goin'?"  
  
Kasumi came back in with a plate of cookies.  
  
"Would you like a cookie?" Facefaulting ensues.  
  
"Kaiki kuso..."  
  
After many explanations, much of which included the answering of   
whether Ranma was really a guy or a girl, Ranma tactfully got Kasumi to   
get him some hot water. He did that by telling Kasumi that she had nice   
hair and that he would appreciate it if she could get him some hot   
water.  
  
Ranma upended the kettle of hot water over his head and felt the change   
immediately.  
  
Kasumi's mind shut down again.  
  
Ranma didn't notice the change in Kasumi, but neither could anyone else   
in the universe. Maybe, it was the smile on her face...  
  
Ranma spied his backpack in the corner of the room and took out a spare   
set of clothes out of it.  
  
After dressing, he looked back at Kasumi and noticed that she hasn't   
moved. She still had that smile on her face. However, when he looked   
again, he thought he saw a bit of drool in the corner of her lips. He   
looked once again, but it wasn't there.  
  
"Must've imagined it."  
  
Ranma left the room and Kasumi.  
  
Kasumi was able to move three hours later. She had a blush on her face.  
  
"Oh my!"  
  
  
Ranma was walking down the hallway when he some conversation around the   
corner. Pressing his back to the wall, he crept some slowly towards the   
voices trying not to make a sound.  
  
"...tice that the word demon sounds so much like a creature from   
Digimon? And that Digimon sounds very Jamaican? Actually, I think that   
Digimon was created by Jamaicans!"  
  
"Um... Hiroshi?"  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"What's a 'Digimon'?"  
  
"Um...Now that I think about it, I don't know."  
  
"What about 'Jamaican'?"  
  
"The author just had me say that to confuse the readers." Ranma sported   
a huge sweatdrop.  
  
"Um...I think it worked Hiroshi."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Uh...Yea...I think I'll just stand right here." Ranma heard some feet   
shuffling.  
  
"..."  
  
"By the way Hiroshi, have you heard that Kyoto was complete   
destroyed?" Ranma perked up.  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"Yea. I heard there weren't any people left alive from that massacre.   
Not even the children."  
  
"Oh man. That's harsh."  
  
"You said it."  
  
"Any clues on who did it?"  
  
"I heard the Lunar Incidental Samurai Army did it."  
  
"Huh. Oh well, did you get a look at that hot red..." Ranma left to   
ponder the conversation he just overheard.  
  
'Lunar Incidental Samurai? Heh. They must be the Looney Idiotic Samurai   
to have picked Kyoto to destroy. Now they have me to deal with. I will   
have my revenge.'  
  
----  
  
(1) I got that word from Messed Up! by Hawk49er. Means "Wierd Shit"   
according to him.  
  
(2) The one that Nabiki dressed him in when he was smacked by Akane.  
  
End of Chapter 4 


End file.
